Tuesday, December 1, 2009

This will keep the Vampires Away



Thanks to everyone who entered the Stonyfield Farms Oikos Yogurt Giveaway.....I used random.org to pick the winner, and it was #3, The Pursuit of Healthfulness! Congrats!

Mike is out of town most of this week, as well as next week, so I'm faced with Cooking For One. I'm not a cereal for dinner type person, I still want to sit down to a hot meal at the end of the day. We ate out and had takeout several times over the weekend, so yesterday's lunch was Bang Bang Shrimp in a whole wheat tortilla (Bonefish Grill leftovers) and dinner was Pra Ram Long Song leftovers from my favorite Tai restaurant. I ran six miles this morning so I might let myself have some pasta for dinner tonight.

I thought I would share my favorite homemade soup, Garlic and Brie. It's actually pretty healthy, minus the cheese, and I think Mike found the recipe years ago in a copy of Bon Appetit magazine. We made a double batch a couple of weekends ago, and just a cup of it is perfect for an afternoon snack. Give it a whirl, just don't expect anyone to kiss you afterwards.

Garlic and Brie Soup

5 heads of garlic
1 large vidalia onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/4 cup flour
6 cups of chicken stock (your own, or an organic, no salt broth)
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh oregano, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
7 ounces of Brie, with the rind removed, and cut into slices
olive oil, kosher salt, pepper
blender, or submersion blender (which is easier)

1. Roast the garlic. Usually I cut the heads off, brush with olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt, put it on aluminum foil, and bake for an hour at 375 until brown. When cooled, squeeze the garlic out of their skins, into a dish and smash into a paste. The last time we made it, we broke the garlic down into segments, and tossed them in oil and salt, then roasted them for about a half hour. It was easier to get the garlic out of the segments this way.

2. Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan, over medium heat. Sautee onion until soft, about 10 minutes. Add celery and carrot, sautee another 10 minutes. Add flour, and stir for a couple of minutes until it turns golden.

3. Slowly add stock, and garlic, and bring to a boil while stirring often. Turn heat to low and simmer 10-15 minutes until soup thickens a bit.

4. Time to puree the soup, take it off the heat. Either use a submersion blender to puree everything until smooth, or pour one cup of soup at a time into a blender, and blend.

5. Once smooth, return soup to saucepan if you used a blender, and add oregano, thyme, salt and pepper to taste, then bring soup back up to simmer on medium/low heat.

6. When you're ready to serve, put soup into bowls, and add brie so that it melts, but doesn't completely dissolve.

It's soooo good with a crusty bread, enjoy!

13 comments:

Theta Mom said...

I love garlic! I never had garlic soup before, sounds delish! BTW, totally miss ya girl! Since my move to WP, I feel somewhat out of touch since my feeds are still all wacky. Hope I didn't lose you bloggy friend!

yonca said...

I'm with you. I don't eat cereal for dinner either.And love soups. This recipe sounds and looks yum!

Pursuit of Healthfulness said...

First of all, I'm so excited about the Oikos Yogurt giveaway! Second, this soup sounds absolutely heavenly to me! Brie is my favorite indulgence in the world, but I've never really thought of pairing it with garlic! This is moving to the top of my recipe to-do list (just maybe not for a date night meal)!

JennyMac said...

Wow...I love soup and brie and garlic are two of my fave things. YUM!

Brandi said...

I didn't think I liked brie until I ate this brie with fig jam wrapped in a puff pastry over the weekend. And now this soup? I simply must try it. MUST. It's like you knew what I was thinking.

Mrs. M said...

OMG! This sounds wonderful!!

Liz Mays said...

Good thing the hubs is out of town for this one. ;) It really does sound delicious coupled with a crusty bread. YUM!

Susan Fobes said...

This looks good! I never had brie before though-not sure I would like such a strong cheese even though I am a cheese lover.
btw: I like your "modern look" to your site now.

Dame Nuisance said...

My husband would absolutely ADORE that soup! Too bad he'd reek for at least a week afterwards. There is something in his body chemistry that makes onion and garlic linger forever ... ugh! But it really does sound yummy and like the perfect cold day soup.

Stopping by from SITS to say hello.

SPEAKING FROM THE CRIB said...

that will def keep the vampires away

definitely

Brianne said...

I love me some garlic, but never had garlic soup! Yum!! I bet is smells so yummy cooking!!

Brad said...

Thanks Molly for the recipe. I have some brie and garlic and was wondering what to do with it. I've had garlic soup before but never with cheese and is sounds wonderful.

a tasteful garden said...

i think i might have found heaven. i always make garlic soup... it's a personal favorite. but i never once thought of adding my favorite cheese of all cheeses, brie!!! thanks so much for sharing. i cannot wait to make this.